Leadership and Spirit

By Russ S. Moxley

Book Overview

Learn how you can harness your inner spirit to help yourself and those around you approach work with a renewed sense of purpose and satisfaction. In this book, Moxley shows how spirit can spawn a more vital and vibrant kind of leadership-one that, in turn, promotes the creativity, vitality, and well-being of others. Here, Moxley examines various leadership practices: those that elevate people's spirits and those that cause the spirit to wither and wane. He offers specific suggestions on what each of us can do to reach a new level of awareness regarding leadership. And he demonstrates how a spirited leadership that values rituals, celebrations, and employee input creates a totally engaged workforce; one that brings the whole person-mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual-to work.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787909491
• ISBN13: 9780787909499
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Arguing for Spirit's Place at the Table

As one of the earlier authors to espouse the benefits of 'spirit' in business leadership, Russ Moxley challenges the 'executive-as-leader' model by offering a 'partnership-as-leadership' model. In this two-part book, Moxley first demonstrates how traditional (command-and-control) leadership negates "who we are", both as leaders and as followers. Then, in Part Two, he discusses how both leaders and followers must change in order for organizations to tap into and benefit from spirit - find meaning and purpose in what they do. Leaders must first tap into who they are rather than think about what or how they (leaders) do things. Once self (identity) is found a leader must: tend to the process, participate fully, and refuse to be 'the' leader. Followers must learn to: choose courage, be present, and avoid crowning the bosses. This is not a how-to book, but a thoughtful discussion that contains nearly as much personal reflections as it does stories of actual leadership situations. It is easy to digest and can be recommended for an evening read by a warm fire, when reflecting is the desire. Dennis DeWilde, author of "The Performance Connection

Incisive Lessons for Business

I keep coming back to this book for my business practice because it touches on important topics and the "white elephants" we don't like to talk about in corporations. The case studies and stories illustrate some alternative ways to think and act at work to bring back the human dimension. It is a book one can take action on to start meaningful conversations that people are hungry for in the workplace.

Getting a spirited, productive workforce

Our struggles in the American workforce cause us to focus on reforms, programs, additional training and tougher evaluations. Worthy efforts, but those still don't fix the problems. Russ Moxley has captured in an easy to read, thought- and heart-provoking book, vital characteristics and behaviors which have the potential to solving some of those issues. I have observed in many organizations the three (3) practices that will create dispirited organizations. Those descriptions alone are worth the price of the book and if addressed, have the potential for transforming a workplace. The five requirements for a new model of leadership will create spirited thoughts and conversations for all who read it! There are very important lessons in this book. You'll be glad you read it, and you will have new insights into how to create a spirited workplace.

'Will stimulate the "vision thing."

Leadership & Spirit by Moxley (brought to you by those folks at the Center for Creative Leadership) manages to be clear, engaging, and concise with an economy of words that borders on simply being beautiful. No fluff or padding here. It's sprinkled with quotes from all aspects of life that highlight and explain a particular process or idea (i.e. courage, coercive power, spirit, team partnership, etc...). Most importantly, this is not more pop psychology, New Age spirituality, or academic business theory. It simply and subtlety touches timeless truths without demeaning them or reducing them to blandness. While not written down to anyone, it has somehow brought to life the simple wisdom we know lies under the surface of complexity. If you're "there" or get some of it (ref: the simple sayings of Chauncy Gardner in the old Seller's movie "Being There"), this can help you get more of it. The vision thing ... `maybe not as elusive as we think! If Covey is too wordy and leaves you frustrated about how to get "there", if you admire the courage of a nay-saying Morton Thiokol engineer, or if you appreciate pithy references to people like Coach Phil Jackson, physicist-theorist David Bohm, philosopher Ken Wilber, or business leadership prognosticators Warren Bennis and Peter Senge or are just looking for inspiration and suspect that our species is moving out of coercive behaviors for dealing with life's challenges, then this book could be for you.